Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for the King
72 O God, make the king right in what he decides. Make the king’s son right with You. 2 May he be right when he decides who is right and who is wrong and may he be fair to the poor. 3 Let mountains and hills bring peace to the people through what is right and good. 4 May he stand by those who are poor, save the children of those in need, and destroy the bad power over them.
5 May all the children-to-come fear You as long as the sun and the moon last. 6 May He come down like rain upon the cut grass, like rain that waters the earth. 7 In His days may all go well with those who are right and good. And may there be much peace until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. 9 Those who live in the desert will put their faces to the ground before Him. And those who hate Him will kiss the dust. 10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring gifts. Let the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. 11 Yes, let all kings fall down at His feet, and all nations serve Him.
12 For He will take out of trouble the one in need when he cries for help, and the poor man who has no one to help. 13 He will have loving-pity on the weak and those in need. He will save the lives of those in need. 14 He will take them from the bad power that is held over them and from being hurt. Their blood will be of much worth in His eyes. 15 He will live, and the gold of Sheba will be given to Him. Prayer will be given for Him all the time. Let them honor Him all day long.
16 May there be much grain in the land on top of the mountains. May its fruit grow like the trees of Lebanon. And may those of the city grow like the grass of the earth. 17 May His name last forever. May His name become bigger as long as the sun shines. And let men respect themselves through Him. Let all nations honor Him.
18 Honor and thanks be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone does great things. 19 And honor be to His great name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His shining-greatness. Let it be so.
20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.
Jacob’s Dream
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones there and put it under his head for a pillow. 12 And he had a dream. He saw steps going up from the earth to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and down these steps. 13 And he saw the Lord standing above them. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and your children after you the land where you are lying. 14 They will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread out to the west and the east and the north and the south. Good will come to all the families of the earth because of you and your children. 15 See, I am with you. I will care for you everywhere you go. And I will bring you again to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done all the things I promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “For sure the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “This place is so different! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 So Jacob got up early in the morning. He took the stone he had used as a pillow, and set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on the top of it. 19 He gave that place the name Bethel. Its name had been Luz before. 20 Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “If God will be with me and take care of me as I go, and if He will give me food to eat and clothes to wear, 21 so that I return in peace to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God. 22 I have set up this stone as a pillar to be God’s house. And I will give You a tenth part of all You give to me.”
13 These people all died having faith in God. They did not receive what God had promised to them. But they could see far ahead to all the things God promised and they were glad for them. They knew they were strangers here. This earth was not their home. 14 People who say these things show they are looking for a country of their own. 15 They did not think about the country they had come from. If they had, they might have gone back. 16 But they wanted a better country. And so God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has made a city for them.
17 Because Abraham had faith, when he was tested, he gave his son Isaac as a gift on the altar in worship. God had made a promise to Abraham that He would give him a son. And yet Abraham was willing to give his only son as a gift on the altar in worship. 18 God had said to Abraham, “Your family will come from Isaac.” (A) 19 Abraham believed God was able to bring Isaac back to life again. And so it may be said that Abraham did receive him back from death.
20 Because Isaac had faith, he said that good would come to Jacob and Esau in the future. 21 Because Jacob had faith, he said that good would come to each of Joseph’s sons as he was dying. He used his walking stick to hold him up as he prayed to God.
22 Because Joseph had faith, he spoke of the Jews leaving the country of Egypt. He was going to die soon, and he told them to bury his body in the country where they were going.
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